African Business 2020 edition

PROFILE Region: Central

PROFILE Region: Central Africa The Central African region has a population of approximately 158-million. Climate The Regional Economic Community (REC) of the Central African region is the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS). ECCAS was established in 1983 when the Customs and Economic Union of Central Africa (UDEAC) joined forces with the Economic Community of the Great Lakes Countries (ECGLC) and the island nation of São Tomé and Príncipe. The member states of ECCAS are Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Rwanda and São Tomé and Príncipe. ECCAS contributes to peace-keeping through the Mission for the Consolidation of Peace in Central African Republic (MICOPAX). The six members of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC) share a common currency, the Central African CFA franc managed by the Bank of Central African States. The countries are Cameroon, Chad, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and the Republic of the Congo. The region covers 6.5-million square kilometres. The place where the rains from the north-east meet the winds from the south-east is called the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). The ITCZ crosses the equator twice a year, creating two rainy seasons and two dry seasons. Thunderstorms are common. Rainfall in the southern section is more variable and proximity to the coast influences weather patterns, as does topography. The equatorial region is the wettest part of the continent and its evergreen tropical rainforest is the second-biggest on earth. The Congo Basin is Africa’s biggest water catchment area. Variations on climate extend north and south of the equator, starting with the savanna forest, and getting drier the further one travels away from the equator. In the most northerly part of the region, the thorny steppe occurs, which is typical of the Sahel. Economy Commodity prices play a big role in the fate of the economies of the Central African region because minerals and oil are the two biggest assets currently being utilised. The vast forests contribute to the export baskets of many nations but there are concerns that illegal logging may be reducing this resource. The powerful rivers of the region present further opportunities; the Congo Basin has 44% of all Africa’s estimated internal renewable water reserves (African Development Bank). Political instability hinders growth. Three of the region’s states are considered “fragile” (Central African Republic, Chad and the Democratic Republic of the Congo) and Cameroon is experiencing severe tensions between English-speaking regions that want to secede from the predominately Francophone country. There is little integration within the region and infrastructure is under-developed. The region’s abundant natural resources could fuel the development of a manufacturing sector. Resources Oil, timber, copper, cobalt, diamonds, uranium, gold, gas, fish. AFRICAN BUSINESS 2020 72

PROFILE Democratic Republic of the Congo Conflict has held back development in this resource-rich country. Capital: Kinshasa Other towns/cities: Lubumbashi, Mbuji-Mayi, Kananga, Kisangani Population: 85.2-million (2018) GDP: .2-billion (2018) GDP per capita (PPP): 2 Currency: Congolese Franc (CDF) Regional Economic Community: Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) Landmass: 2 267 048km² Coastline: 37km Resources: Cobalt, copper, niobium, tantalum, petroleum, industrial and gem diamonds, gold, silver, zinc, manganese, tin, uranium, coal, timber, germanium, lithium, granite, coffee, sugar, palm oil, rubber, tea, cotton, cocoa, quinine, cassava, bananas, plantains. Main economic sectors: Mining, agriculture. Other sectors: Mineral processing, consumer products, metal products, timber, cement, ship repair. New sectors for investment: Energy (vast hydropower resources), agriculture (DRC has 80-million hectares of arable land), infrastructure. Key projects: The DRC participates in the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI). Chief exports: Cobalt, diamonds, copper, gold, cobalt, wood products, crude oil, coffee. Top export destinations: China, Zambia, South Korea, Finland. Top import sources: China, South Africa, Zambia, Belgium, India, Tanzania. Main imports: Mining and other machinery, transport equipment, fuels, food. Infrastructure: 26 airports with paved runways; pipelines (62km gas, 77km oil, 756km refined products); roads 152 373km of which 3 047km paved (2015); railway 4 007km (2014); seaport at Banana; river or lake ports at Boma, Bumba, Kinshasa, Kisangani, Matadi, Mbandaka, Kindu, Bukavu, Goma, Kalemie; waterways 15 000km. ICT: ICT Development Index 2017 (ITU): 171. Mobile phone subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 42 (2017). Internet users percent of population: 3.8% (2016). Climate: Most of country is in a central tropical basin. The Congo Basin is the continent’s largest water catchment area. Hot and humid in equatorial river basin. Cool and dry in southern highlands. Cool and wet in eastern highlands, with alternating wet seasons. Religion: Mostly Christian. Also Kimbanguist, Muslim and others. Modern history: Instability has been a constant in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Joseph Kabila became president when his father Laurent was assassinated in 2001. After winning elections in 2006, he controversially won a second term in 2011 and then refused to leave office in 2016. Eventually, in 2019, new president Felix Tshisekedi took office. Although the country has vast mineral and timber resources, virtually unlimited hydropower potential and millions of acres of fertile soil, it struggles to produce enough food to feed its population. Conflict within the country and on its eastern border has created thousands of refugees and resulted in a lack of investment in infrastructure. The World Bank reports that in 2018 the DRC emerged from the economic recession triggered by the decline in the global prices of its main export commodities. 73 AFRICAN BUSINESS 2020